Screen Printing vs DTG: Which is Cheaper & Most Cost Effective?

Choosing how you print your t-shirts for your business can be confusing. Especially when factoring in costs and time. There are a lot of options out there, but the most popular are direct-to-garment (also known as DTG) and screen printing.

Selecting the right option for your online business can be the foundation that leads to satisfied customers, keeping costs down and being able to scale your business in the future. In this post, we’ll outline the pros and cons of both screen printing and DTG printing so that you can make an informed decision about which one is right for your business.

What Is Screen Printing?

Screen printing has been around for centuries. It’s a tried and true method that has been used to print t-shirts, posters, flags – pretty much anything flat and porous. It’s a great tool for businesses and consumers for anything from promotional products for brands or printing funny slogans, cute cats and whatever trendy thing is at the moment.

Screen printing works like this: a stencil is created, the stencil is placed on the screens, ink is pushed through the screens onto the garment and then the garment is cured so that the ink becomes permanent.

It’s great for businesses that have large orders because once the screens are set up, you can print a lot of shirts quickly and relatively cheaply. If you have a one-time event, screen printing is probably not the best option for you because of the set-up costs unless you’re going to sell at a high volume.

What Is DTG Printing?

With DTG printing it is a newer technology that has only been around for about 15 years. The process of DTG printing typically goes like this:

1. The design is created
2. Then it is printed directly onto the garment using water-based inks.

It is great for businesses that have small orders or need a quick turnaround time because there are no set-up costs – you can print one shirt or one thousand shirts and the price will be the same.

However, DTG printing does have some drawbacks. One is that the ink can sometimes crack or fade over time – especially if the garment is washed frequently. Additionally, DTG printing is not possible on certain garments such as 100% polyester or dark colored garments (without a white under base).

Conclusion:

So which one should you choose for your business – screen printing or Direct-To-Garment Transfer? The answer, as with most things in life, is it depends. Each business will have their own unique needs. If you have large orders and can afford the set-up costs, screen printing is the way to go.

If you have small orders or need a quick turnaround time, DTG is probably the better option. And if you’re still unsure, we recommend ordering a few samples to see which one you like better. Wash it frequently and see how it holds up. Making sure your customers are happy is the utmost importance to a successful business.

Whichever method you choose, do your research. Screen printing and DTG are both great options! They each have their own set of pros and cons. It’s up to you to decide which one is best for your business.

Too hard to decide? Let us do printing for you! We have a wide variety of printing services available, we’d love to help! Our customer service is here for all of your needs. Including high quality blank t-shirts for babies, toddlers, kids and adults.